Lil’ Red Hen Nursery School, Inc.
A licensed child care center in Delmar, Delaware 19940
400 North Bi State Boulevard, Delmar, Delaware 19940. (302) 846-2777.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. Delaware’s own record is on data.delaware.gov.
The short answer
Record last released by Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing on Oct 29, 2026.
Each figure’s source sits beside it, in its section below.
What these words mean4
- Inspection (survey)
- A visit by state inspectors, often unannounced, who check a place against the rules it must meet. For nursing homes and other places Medicare pays, CMS calls these visits surveys: a standard survey of a nursing home comes at least every 15 months, and a complaint survey whenever a complaint calls for one. Source: CMS; 42 CFR 488.308.
- Deficiency, citation, violation
- What inspectors write up when a place didn’t meet a rule: the rule, what they saw, and when. CMS calls it a deficiency; states may say citation or violation. It is the inspectors’ finding, not a court’s, and the place is usually asked for a plan to correct it. Source: CMS, statement of deficiencies (Form CMS-2567); each state’s licensing agency.
- Licence status
- Whether the state’s licence lets the place operate now, in the state’s own words: licensed, on probation (allowed to keep operating on conditions, after problems), provisional, pending or expired. Source: Each state’s licensing agency.
- Capacity
- The most people the licence or certification lets the place care for at once: residents, children, beds or apartments, as the state counts them. It isn’t how many are there now. Source: Each state’s licensing agency.
What did inspectors find?
3 visits with violations in the last three years, the latest on Oct 15, 2026; Delaware doesn’t list visits that found nothing.
10 violations cited in the last three years.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Compliance Review Information. Released Oct 29, 2026. Updated daily.
When those violations happened
10 violations in 3 months of the last 36. Last cited Oct 2026. The last 3 years, to Oct 30, 2026.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Nov | Dec | ||||||||||
| 2024 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2025 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2026 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct |
Hover or focus a month to read it.
Hearth Record drew this from the dates and levels in the source’s own records.
Each violation, in its source’s words
Grouped by visit, newest first, with the level its source gave it.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Compliance Review Information. Released Oct 29, 2026. Updated daily.
Oct 15, 2026: unannounced Full Compliance Review3 violations
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Personnel Files
“Ensure staff files are complete. One staff needs updated fingerprinting. One staff need an additional reference letter. One staff needs orientation, application or resume, employee declaration, drug/ alcohol statement, letter of eligibility, adult abuse registry check, health appraisal with TB and release of employment.”
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Child Files
“Ensure child files are complete. Three children need blood lead level test results. Two children need updated infant feeding statements. One child needs updated health appraisal with immunizations.”
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Outdoor Area
“Ensure gates are self-closing/self-latching. Gate on front playground needs a self-closing/self-latching mechanism.”
Oct 16, 2025: unannounced Full Compliance Review4 violations
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Personnel Files
“Ensure staff files are complete. One staff needs a release of employment history and service letters. One staff needs two additional reference letters.”
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Child Files
“Ensure child files are complete. Two children need updated health appraisals. Three children need updated immunizations. Three children need blood lead level test results. Three children need updated infant feeding statement.”
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Outdoor Area
“Ensure fall zones extend six feet in all directions and is at least 9 inches in depth. Mulch around fall zones on all playgrounds needs to be replenished.”
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Sleeping Accommodations and Safe Sleep Environments
“Ensure nap equipment is non-porous and easy to clean. Several mats in the preschool area were ripped.”
Oct 3, 2024: unannounced Full Compliance Review3 violations
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Personnel Files
“Ensure staff files are complete. Staff #1 needs four references. Staff #2 needs an Adult Abuse registry check, release of employment, and two documented attempts at obtaining service letters. Staff #3 needs orientation, application or resume, job description, two or four references depending on service letters, employee declaration, drug and alcohol statement, adult abuse registry check, health appraisal with TB, release of employment history and service letters.”
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Child Files
“Ensure child files are complete. One child needs an updated immunization record or note from doctor, One child needs updated health appraisal and immunizations.”
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Outdoor Area
“Ensure fall zones are covered with at least 9 inches of material . All three playgrounds need mulch replenishing.”
All 3 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 15, 2026 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 3 violations cited |
| Oct 16, 2025 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 4 violations cited |
| Oct 3, 2024 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 3 violations cited |
Is it licensed?
- Licensed Child Care Center.
- Ages served, in Delaware’s words: 6 weeks through 11 years.
- Takes part in: Purchase of Care (state-subsidized child care).
- Licence number 335248.
- Capacity: 217 children.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Oct 29, 2026. Updated daily.
Has Delaware acted against it?
- 4 complaint investigations in the last three years. Results, in Delaware’s words: No Evidence to Substantiate (2), Substantiated (2).
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Complaint Reviews and Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Oct 29, 2026. Updated daily.
| Date | What | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5, 2025 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | The Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint on October 6, 2025, regarding lack of positive behavioral support. An investigation was conducted on October 16, 2025. There is no evidence to substantiate for lack of positive behavior support because staff stated they redirected the children and discussed the situation calmly with them. Classroom video footage of the incident was no longer available to be viewed. |
| May 5, 2025 | OCCL Standards Complaint: Substantiated | OCCL s investigation of regulatory non-compliance began after clearance from other agencies was received. The Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding improper discipline. An investigation was conducted on April 17, 2025. This complaint is substantiated for improper discipline because staff called a child a crybaby, a negative term. Also, one child stated the staff hit them on the back and stated they told other adults about this but did not provide further details. The staff denied any use of improper discipline. A concern noted while interviewing a staff member was they were unable to recall child abuse and neglect reporting laws. Another concern noted was when specialists arrived at the center, a staff member left the classroom with children unattended to greet the specialists. |
| Feb 3, 2025 | OCCL Standards Complaint: Substantiated | On January 10, 2025, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding improper discipline. An investigation was conducted on January 22, 2025. This complaint is substantiated for improper discipline because a staff member witnessed another staff member slap a child. This staff member s employment at the center was terminated. |
| Oct 18, 2024 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On September 27, 2024, the Office of Child Care Licensing received a complaint regarding proper handwashing, having children share food, sanitation, smoking, staff being under the influence, improper discipline, and not using respectful communication. An investigation was conducted on October 3, 2024. There is no evidence to substantiate lack of handwashing because children and staff were observed washing hands before eating lunch. There is no evidence to substantiate children sharing food because staff denied this and stated extra snacks are provided if a child is still hungry. There is no evidence to substantiate a lack of sanitation because the kitchen was clean and sanitary at the time of the visit. There is no evidence to substantiate smoking on the premises because staff stated no one smokes in the building and there was no obvious odor. There is no evidence to substantiate being under the influence of drugs because staff stated they have never witnessed anyone coming to work under the influence. There is no evidence to substantiate improper discipline because staff had not witnessed anyone being rough or hitting the children. There is no evidence to substantiate not using respectful communication because staff stated they had not witnessed owners being rude or disrespectful. |
Who does the caring?
- Delaware doesn’t publish staffing levels for individual providers.
Who owns it?
- Delaware’s open data doesn’t list owners.
How is it rated?
- 2025: 1 facility injury. No facility deaths reported.
- 2022: 1 facility injury. No facility deaths reported.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Oct 29, 2026. Updated daily.
How does it compare nearby?
- Providers aren’t compared: Delaware lists only the visits that found violations, so a count can’t tell a clean record from one never visited.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Compliance Review Information. Released Oct 29, 2026. Updated daily.
| Place | Violations cited in the last three years |
|---|---|
| Piper’s Playhouse/Geraldine Piper | Not given |
| Mary Webb | Not given |
| Teresa Mcternan | Not given |
| Lil’ Red Hen Nursery School, Inc. This child care provider | Not given |
| Pansy Powell | Not given |
| Cynthia Neal | Not given |
| Lullaby Learning Center, Inc. | Not given |
| Tops Childcare LLC | Not given |
| Children’s Place Child Development Center | Not given |
| Beach Buddies School Age Program | Not given |
| Little Einstein’s Preschool - Millsboro | Not given |
| Gigglebugs Early Learning Center, LLC | Not given |
What the record doesn’t say
- Delaware doesn’t grade violations by severity, so read what was cited.
- Delaware’s open data lists a visit only when a violation was cited there, so visits that found nothing aren’t shown.
- Delaware publishes five years of reviews and complaints; this page shows the last three.
- Delaware doesn’t publish staffing levels or owners for individual providers.
- Delaware lists only the visits that found violations, so a provider with none listed may not have been visited at all: no count of violations is used to headline, filter or compare its providers.
Sources
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Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities (iuzd-3dbt).
Released Oct 29, 2026 and checked Oct 30, 2026. Updated daily. Public Domain.
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Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Compliance Review Information (wb83-pkcv).
Released Oct 29, 2026 and checked Oct 30, 2026. Updated daily. Public Domain.
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Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Complaint Reviews (pnbd-85r6).
Released Oct 29, 2026 and checked Oct 30, 2026. Updated daily. Public Domain.
If you believe something here is wrong, a correction starts with the agency whose record this copies: Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing. Delaware’s own record is on data.delaware.gov. If Hearth Record copied something wrongly, it will fix it and log the correction publicly, with its date: how corrections work.
This copy of the record was made on Oct 30, 2026.
From the provider
The public record above comes first. Anything the provider adds will appear here, below it, and say who wrote it.
Replies
None. Replies aren’t open yet. When they open, the provider will be able to answer any finding for free, and the reply will show beside that finding, unedited and dated.
Paid listing
None. Paid listings aren’t open yet. When they open, anything paid for will say “Paid by the provider”, and paying will never change a finding, a rating or the order of results.